Critical Legislation to ‘STOP THE BLEED’ Officially Signed into Law

Critical Legislation to ‘STOP THE BLEED’ Officially Signed into Law

(Sacramento, CA) – Yesterday, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 2260, authored by Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez (D – Pomona), into law. This vital legislation requires specific public and private buildings to install and maintain six trauma kits on the building’s premises to treat individuals in need of emergency medical care. This legislation also empowers bystanders to act as immediate responders by extending the Good Samaritan Law to ensure they are immune from liability when providing emergency care in good faith.

“As a career first responder, I understand how critical the first few minutes are when facing life-threatening blood loss. I always say that we can never be overly prepared, and, unfortunately, the increased frequency of these traumatic events shows that we must prepare now. Enabling bystanders to act as immediate responders and ‘STOP THE BLEED’ will aid in eliminating preventable deaths, saving lives,” stated Assemblymember Rodriguez.

Back in 2015, President Obama initiated the ‘STOP THE BLEED’ campaign, encouraging bystanders to become trained, equipped, and empowered to take life-saving action while waiting for emergency personnel to arrive. Now, over 2.1 million people have been trained on these life-saving measures.

As these devastating mass shooting events have increased in frequency, some states have already passed legislation empowering their residents to become trained as immediate responders. Texas and Indiana have laws in place to have trauma kits and training on their usage of them in schools. Georgia has included the cost of installing these kits in schools into their state budget. Additionally, Arkansas passed a bill requiring high school students to participate in training as a graduation requirement.  

In just this year, our nation has suffered over 500 mass shootings. Having bystanders adequately trained and equipped to respond when tragedy hits will better prepare California to control life-threatening blood loss and immediately work to save lives.

“We are proud of our California member surgeons who helped make this legislation a reality. A bleeding emergency can happen anywhere, and by prominently placing bleeding control kits in public places, California empowers its citizens to step in and save lives when a bleeding emergency occurs,” said ACS Executive Director Patricia L. Turner, MD, MBA, FACS.

Assemblymember Rodriguez (Twitter) represents the 53rd Assembly District which includes the cities of Chino, Montclair, Ontario, Pomona, and Upland. He is Chair of the Assembly Committee on Emergency Management.